


It's Rude To Stare

by Nygmatech



Series: Rained In [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Animated Series
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Autistic Edward Nygma, Caring Harvey, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enthusiastic Consent, First Kiss, Light Angst, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Partners in Crime, Partners to Lovers, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sexual Tension, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:00:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26991037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nygmatech/pseuds/Nygmatech
Summary: The Riddler and Two Face have teamed up, and while their criminal partnership is going smoothly so far, stronger emotions seem to simmering right under the surface. After Edward inadvertently sets Harvey off (and vice versa,) the two end up closer than expected while reconciling what had happened...
Relationships: Harvey Dent/Edward Nygma
Series: Rained In [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974844
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23





	It's Rude To Stare

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hi, howdy! This is the first fanfic I have written in nearly a decade!! Hope someone out there enjoys it, and I hope to write more soon :'^)
> 
> Note/Disclaimer: I am a bit of a Wreck upstairs, figuratively speaking. My depictions of/headcanons for Edward and Harvey are drawn partially from my personal experience with this, and may be a little different from some canon interpretations of these characters!

A storm was raging downtown, rain pelting the metal exterior of an unassuming blue warehouse about one hour from the Gotham Dockyards. It was here that the dreaded Two-Face, relentless scourge of Gotham, made his headquarters for the time being. Now rising to become one of the city’s dominant criminal presences, Harvey had a lot to manage, and needed the space to keep his own inventory under wraps.

Of course, no new hideout was without its challenges. The place was still in disarray, though he and his henchmen were making progress with the move. Soon enough, things would be exactly-so, the way Harvey _needed_ deep down, but for now, the mess just had to wait.

The scarred scourge of Gotham sat on an old, worn couch in what was likely once an office, now gutted save for said sofa, drafting desk, a CRT television, and the chipped particle board unit on which it was placed. Dent shuffled through the contents of a dense manila file folder, assessing the contents within as he half paid attention to the staticky rerun of Forensic Files that filled the silent void of the room.

On the other side of the room, perched on a stool at the heavy steel table was another notorious member of Gotham’s rogues gallery. Edward Nygma, as The Riddler was known in private company, had been working alongside Dent for a few months now, figuring he would find himself a good mental challenge in working out the tactics of underhanded dealings without attaching his image to a gang operation. As Two-Face’s closest consultant, he filled his extra time with this work, all while taking on his own larger passion projects in the relative security Dent’s operation provided. It was a solid partnership, and so far, one that went quite smoothly after some of the rockier aspects of their professional relationship were ironed out in the first few weeks of the deal.

As expected from the likes of The Riddler, Edward was tinkering with a puzzle box, one of his own design, while Harvey continued to sort through what seemed like endless piles of financial records and confidential documents. Every so often, Edward’s eyes would wander off his intricate little machine and across the room; Harvey was no longer in his suit, his undershirt split black and white and meticulously sewn together down the middle like the majority of his clothing was. It came as no surprise to Edward, who was still fully clothed, mask and all. They both had their idiosyncrasies.

Edward’s distracted gaze moved upwards, from Harvey’s clothes to his face. At his core, he found Harvey’s marred visage fascinating. It was distinctive, after all. Iconic. A striking contrast of soft skin and heavy scarring, with strong cheekbones and dark, intense eyes that could cut through a crowd in an instant. Not one to be confined to the traditional definition of beauty, Edward instead concentrated on every detail, getting lost in tracing the organic contours of his partner in crime’s face until his wandering thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a sharp barking voice.

“ ** _The HELL are you staring at?_ **”

Edward blinked, snapping back into the present moment and noticing Harvey’s eyes had narrowed and his expression had soured.

Harvey continued, voice shaky and tone unstable. “ **You have a problem with** **_our face_ ** **, Nygma? Do you?** **_Spit it out!_ **” He stood up, heart racing and teeth clenched, though he didn't move a step forward. Edward’s heart dropped to his feet, immediately scrambling at lightspeed internally to smooth it over. He never did well in the company of angry men.

Feeling deep, buried anxieties well up in his gut, Edward’s thoughts flew by in a rapidfire trial and error run. He rummaged through his mental catalogue of ‘Things to Say to Soothe the Raging Beast,’ hoping they would be more effective on Harvey than the drunkard of his youth he had tried so hard to forget.

Maybe it _was_ wise to tell the truth this time, Edward eventually figured. He was caught looking, after all; this was no baseless accusation. The nervous mastermind fidgeted with a pencil that he reflexively pulled from his pocket and cracked a disarming smile.

“Sorry, Harv! Sorry! I know it's touchy for you,” He lets out a pathetic laugh, hoping Dent’s scowl would soften even a little. Not a budge. “But I just find you...interesting. Not in a bad way, I promi--”

“ **So you see us as an oddity then.** ”

“Not necessarily.”

“ **A curiosity?** ” Harvey’s wispy eyebrow raised.

“Not that either, let me just,” Edward paused, thinking for a split second as he tapped his chin rapidly with the pencil he still held. “Have you ever seen a three dimensional topographic map, Mr. Dent?”

“ **You’re** **_not helping_** _,_ ” the larger man growled. 

The tapping paused. “Like that, but...extremely captivating” The Riddler’s masked eyes remained fixed on the face of his cohort.

“The hell does that mean?” Harvey sighed, initial offense and ire finally giving way to genuine confusion. E. Nygma was no vanity moniker - the man seemed to speak in puzzles even when he wasn’t actively trying to stump someone.

“What I’m trying to say is I-uh,” he stammered, seemingly out of character from the self-assured, infallible genius he near-constantly made a point to remind the world he was. A brief sigh and a quick adjustment of his tie, the stiff-postured man finally spit it out. “I find you quite handsome.”

“Like a three-dimensional topographic map?”

“Precisely!” Edward’s eyes beamed as Harvey rolled his. Fighting what was left of his initial anger back, the former DA let out a few restrained chuckles at the now-blushing Riddler in front of him.

“Guess that’s better than some kind of freak show exhibit, I guess. You’d think I’m used to getting stares by now.” Dent let out a puff of air from his nostrils as he plopped back down where he was previously seated. “ _He_ doesn’t like it when people stare.”

“From what I’ve determined, Pissy Harvey doesn’t like anything, your point?”

“My point is...never mind.” Harvey could feel the flames of rage nipping once more at his throat. He didn’t need to fall back in, not around Edward. Squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head, he fought to extinguish it. “I’m...sorry I snapped at ya. Felt insecure, and he stepped right in. If you _really_ wanna look at this face, knock yourself out.”

A silence passed.

“Pissy Harvey? That’s what you call him?”

Edward smirked. “What can I say? I call it like I see it.”

Harvey had no response. Edward simply shrugged, slinking over to the beat-up couch on which the two-tone crime boss was now slumped. Adrenaline gradually leaving his bloodstream, Edward let out a deep sigh and slid down next to Harvey, wrapping a long, slender arm around his solid, hunched shoulder.

“I should apologize, too. I always forget it’s rude to stare.”

“It’s fine. You’re not built like the rest of ‘em, Ed.” He tapped the side of Edward’s head with one finger. “I gotta remind myself of that all the time.”

While they had been working together for a while, this was the closest either one has been with the other. This was certainly the first time Harvey called his consultant “Ed,” and while Nygma was not one for nicknames, this time felt _different_. The inner contrarian in him didn’t feel the urge to combat it. Instead, the green-suited man leaned into Harvey, arm still around his shoulder. 

Harvey was surprisingly warm, a comfort Edward appreciated in this big metal box he spent so many hours of his day in. The sound of the rain was audible even above the faint fuzz of the tv, now completely static from the storm’s interference. Harvey idly reached out and ran his fingers through Edward’s soft hair as they both sat, cooling down from the heightened tensions and raised hackles of before. With each breath, Edward tried to relax his own overwrought body, vainly hoping Harvey wouldn’t notice.

Too bad it _wasn’t easy_ to hide things from Two-Face, genius or not. While Edward excelled in matters of logic, Harvey knew how to read people like a book. It was a remnant of his years as a politician, and even now, as further fragmented as he felt after the incident, he was still able to sniff out when things seemed off. Harvey turned his head to face Edward, making a conscious effort to not be too sudden. “Listen, Edward. I’ll try my best to keep his shit under control around you moving forward. We’ll, er. We’ll save it for the henchmen.”

“They’re the ones who need it.” Edward laughed half-heartedly. “A _quality lot_ you got there.” A smug smirk crossed his lips, finally feeling himself come back to his senses.

“They’re petty criminals, not Yale grads...” Harvey yawned. “You think we can do much better? I just didn’t expect this shit to...y’know.”

“Old wounds, Harvey. You’re not ready for those puzzles yet.”

“Oh trust me, I’ve got my fair share.”

“I could tell.”

Harvey shook his head, his lips turning slightly upwards as his hand traveled down from Edward’s red, formerly-coiffed hair and around his waist, giving him two solid pats before drawing his slender figure in closer. 

“For real, Ed. How can I make it up to you?” Harvey asked, a rare strain of genuine concern pushing through in his steady tone. “We fucked up. Clear as day.”

Once again, Edward found himself distracted by Harvey’s face. He reached up and brushed his cheek, never before considering he would be in the very position he was in. As unfamiliar as it felt, he knew exactly what he wanted. Gently pressing a gloved thumb into Harvey’s lips, the typically-interrogative question marks on his suit only accentuated his request.

“May I?” His lightly freckled face flushed red. “I...would like to understand you more closely.”

Harvey’s heart sped up a tick, though not as drastically as it did before. As Edward’s thumb slowly dragged away, Harvey instinctively reached for the pocket where he kept his coin.

“Harvey. I know I want this. I want to know if _you_ want this.”

Harvey’s hand remained frozen over his pocket. Too many times he had made the wrong decision, and too many times it had backfired. However, what was the risk? If things went south, he could end Edward’s career for good. Edward knew this; there had to be some level of trust here, right? If the nagging voice in the back of his mind had anything to say, there’d be no harm done. Just kiss the man already.

“ _I want this_.” Harvey stated. His voice was soft, but still imbued with the conviction of the district attorney he once was. Edward once more ran his fingers down Harvey’s face, appreciating every bump and ridge as he went. He was unexpectedly forthright in his actions, starting off with a soft kiss on Harvey’s lips before taking a more passionate turn, leading Harvey into a close embrace. His motions were initially calculated, played through multiple times in his mind before he went in for the first kiss, but this soon ebbed away into what felt right in the moment.

Now Harvey was getting into it, his tongue flitting between Edward’s soft lips as he held onto the slimmer man with his strong arms for what seemed like dear life before backing off to take a breath. Edward felt disheveled but exhilarated, listening to Harvey pant like he had been holding this desire back for longer than even he expected. The experience left him a little physically overwhelmed, but he ignored it in favor of the emotional release this was giving him.

Before Edward could even finish his thought, he was drawn in once again by Harvey, gently tugging at his tie into a deep kiss while a crack of thunder boomed outside. Edward returned the favor, gently pecking up and down Harvey’s sensitive, unscarred side, feeling his skin shudder with goosebumps as he went along. He made his way down to Harvey’s neck skillfully, teasing him with a few licks before planting one more kiss on his collarbone.

“How...the fuck did you get so good at this, Nygma?” Harvey panted out between breaths, trying to keep himself from getting too riled up. 

“I read up on technique, mostly,” he said, as if it were the obvious answer. “I’d still consider myself an amateur…”

“Some amateur...” Harvey scoffed, catching his breath.

“Do you still feel like you made the right decision, Harvey?”

“So far? No regrets.” He stretches out his shoulder before settling back down.

“Then would you be interested in perhaps...taking things further?” Edward was now being bold, drumming his fingers on Dent’s thigh. Harvey, on the other hand, was a little more ambivalent. Once again caught at the impasse of indecision, he felt himself reaching for his coin and pausing.

“It’s okay, Harvey,” Edward reassured, “I may not...fully understand your logic, but if it makes you feel comfortable, we can leave this to chance. I don’t want to pressure you.” He put his hand on top of Harvey’s, noting his calloused fingers, before letting him reach into his pocket to pull out his silver dollar.

“Heads says we go for it, tails says another time. Sound good, Ed?” 

Edward nodded, watching the coin intently as it was flicked into the air, momentarily weightless, before landing precisely on Harvey’s other palm. Slapping it back onto the marred hand that tossed it, Harvey took in the result of his throw. His eyes met Edward’s. “Let’s see what the jury decides.”


End file.
